“Moving luggage, not skipping calculus class?”

“No. I’ve already previewed today’s lesson.”

“Alright,” the counselor signed the leave slip. “No more skipping calculus next week.”

“Mm.”

With the slip settled, Qin Xin returned to her dorm for a quick pack. Bedding like sheets, quilts, and pillows were already at her sister’s place—only personal items needed gathering.

Even so, it took nearly half an hour. Suitcase in hand, she stepped out of campus and headed toward Shuiyue Tingyuan.

As she walked, her thoughts stirred.

Learning about her sister’s past heartbreak—how she’d been deceived in love and fallen from her pedestal—had softened the distance between them. With less resistance in her heart, Qin Xin even felt a flicker of anticipation for what lay ahead.

Home was simply better than a dorm. Especially her sister’s standalone villa—worlds apart from campus housing. Plus, two meals a day were provided.

School canteen food was passable, but nothing compared to home cooking.

*Huh… living with Jiejie might not be so bad after all.*

Stepping through Shuiyue Tingyuan’s gate, she spotted Aunt Zou in the garden.

“Second Miss, you’re here?”

“Mm. Good afternoon, Aunt Zou,” she gave a slight nod. “Just got out of class.”

Aunt Zou, who’d cared for both Qin sisters since childhood, gestured inward. “Come in. Elder Miss and the others haven’t eaten yet.”

Qin Xin caught the word “others.” *So it’s Mother’s second guess—Jiejie brought that girl home to handle things.*

*Good. That’s exactly right.*

“Haven’t had lunch yet? So late?”

“Not exactly,” Aunt Zou’s expression turned odd. “It’s just… something happened. Or maybe not *unexpected*.”

“Hm?”

Qin Xin blinked in confusion.

“Please sit, Second Miss,” Aunt Zou opened the living room door and called to the maids, “Prepare Second Miss’s room.”

Qin Xin set her suitcase aside and had just sat when strange murmurs reached her ears.

Aunt Zou heard them too—her eyelids twitched.

*Ugh. Why there of all places?*

The bedroom was two corridors away, but the lounge beside the living room served as a nap room. Whether Elder Miss was too impatient or too furious to wait, she’d chosen the nearest spot.

They were having a “team battle” right there.

Close enough to hear everything—muffled, but clear.

“Don’t want to eat? Fine. Here. Swallow this.”

“Mmm… mmm…”

Qin Xin frowned. “What are they doing?”

Aunt Zou clasped her hands, summoning quick wit: “The girl Elder Miss brought back disliked lunch. Elder Miss is forcing her to eat something else.”

(She’d swapped “Miss Ningning” for “the girl,” assuming Qin Xin didn’t know her.)

“How about this?” Qin Yue’s voice drifted, muffled. “Like it?”

“Mmm… no.”

“This one?”

“Mmm… same.”

Though blurred, the words were decipherable.

Qin Xin tilted her head. “How can she talk while being fed?”

Aunt Zou blurted, “Maybe it’s not with her mouth.”

Qin Xin: “?”

*Oops.*

Before Aunt Zou could recover, Qin Xin mused aloud, “They’re doing ( ), right?”

“Second Miss—!” Aunt Zou gasped. “How did you—”

“No surprise, Aunt Zou. Times changed,” Qin Xin said lightly. “This is basic knowledge nowadays. Hardly anyone’s clueless.”

In the hyper-media age, if you’re online, what *don’t* you know?

Aunt Zou sighed. “Hungry, Second Miss? When shall we eat?”

“Shouldn’t we wait for Jiejie? How long has she been…?”

“Forty minutes.”

“Shouldn’t be much longer, right?”

Aunt Zou gave a wry smile. “Not necessarily. Still early.”

Qin Xin frowned. “Is Jiejie *that* enduring?”

“Not about body,” Aunt Zou said. “It’s willpower.”

“What?”

First time hearing such a wild claim.

“Elder Miss has her reason. She won’t stop until she reaches her goal,” Aunt Zou urged gently. “Please eat first, Second Miss.”

*I-Is that so?*

Impolite for a guest to eat before the host—but Aunt Zou insisted. Fine.

After a simple lunch, Qin Xin settled in the living room with a book.

“Second Miss, your room’s ready. Why not rest there?”

“No need. I’ll stay here.”

“But… it’s not quiet,” Aunt Zou glanced toward the lounge.

The intermittent sounds made cheeks flush and hearts race.

“I don’t mind,” Qin Xin said softly.

*After all, moving in without greeting Jiejie feels rude.*

Over an hour had passed. *She’ll come out soon.*

“As you wish. Your room’s available anytime.”

Maids cleared the table. The living room held Qin Xin alone… no—Qin Xin, her sister, and the girl. Three.

The long afternoon began.

Sounds rose and fell like an uneven prose poem—sometimes surging like storm waves, sometimes trickling like drizzle. Rhythmic. Cadenced.

At 3 p.m., Qin Xin closed her book slowly.

*That girl must be stunning… to hold Jiejie’s attention for three hours.*

Afternoon laziness weighed heavy. She closed her eyes.

The lounge’s rhythmic murmurs melted into a lullaby, slipping into her dream.

There, she saw her senior—Senior Ningning. Her cool, lovely face. Her graceful, captivating figure. Everything.

Even that distant, cold whisper blended with the lullaby at her ear.

But dreams remain dreams. however vivid, something’s always missing. No matter what Qin Xin did inside it, she felt adrift—like rootless duckweed. Trapped. Unable to wake.

————